Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Labour Market

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have madeof the impact ofartificial intelligenceand automationon the labour market in the coming decades.

lord henley: The Government continually monitors external evidence on this key topic, including evidence drawn from think tanks, academics and representative bodies.In our Industrial Strategy, we announced a Grand Challenge on growing our AI and Data-driven economy. Meeting our Grand Challenge means maximising the opportunities created by AI and advanced data technologies, and responding to the potential impacts on society, including the labour market. Embedding AI across the UK will create thousands of jobs and drive economic growth. AI could add £232 billion to the economy by 2030. Through the Industrial Strategy, we will help people develop the skills needed for the jobs of the future, including by investing in maths, digital and technical skills, and introducing a national retraining scheme in England.

Industry

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what actions they are taking in response to reports of slowing growth in the services, manufacturing, and construction sectors.

lord henley: Through our Industrial Strategy, we will make sure that we are using all the tools we have to stimulate growth throughout the UK. We will further reduce corporation tax from 19 per cent to 17 per cent by 2020 and increase R&D tax credits for large businesses from 11% to 12% from January 2018; whilst we have also increased the permanent level of the Annual Investment Allowance to £200,000 from this year. Through the National Productivity Investment Fund, £31bn is being invested into key productivity-enhancing areas such as infrastructure, R&D and housing - increasing investment in research and development to 2.4% of GDP, an extra £80bn over 10 years. We are working closely with UK industry to create the right conditions for competitive, world leading manufacturing businesses to flourish and grow across the UK. We have invested over £300m in the last five years in the High Value Manufacturing Catapult to support the commercialisation of the innovation and new technologies. We have invested £246m for the Faraday Challenge to ensure the UK leads the world in the design, development and manufacture of batteries for the electrification of vehicles. The Construction Sector Deal - supported by £170 million of government investment and £250 million of match funding from industry - brings together the construction, manufacturing, energy and digital sectors in a new hub to commercialise technologies capable of building assets which are both cost effective and energy efficient. One of the next Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund programmes includes £20m for next generation services. As technologies like artificial intelligence and data analytics become ubiquitous, we need to ensure UK service sectors are primed. Pioneer funding will help service industries to identify how the application of these technologies can transform their operations. This will help to set UK service industries at the forefront of developing and using innovation. All wave 2 programmes are subject to final business case when further details on funding will be made available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Religious Freedom

baroness anelay of st johns: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks made by the Rt Hon Mark Field MP on 26 October 2017 (HC Deb, col 233 WH) that in partnership withLord Ahmad of Wimbledon he would write to the embassies and high commissions in key countries for which he had responsibility, asking them to report on precisely what they are doing to promote freedom of religion or belief, which embassies and high commissions responded; and what they reported.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: To date, I have received substantive replies to the letter of 26 October 2017 from our Embassies or High Commissions in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Burma, Nepal, Malaysia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.As requested in the letter of 26 October, these letters report on the main current and planned activities of those Embassies and High Commissions in the defence and promotion of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). Due to the sensitivities of some of the material contained in those letters it would not be appropriate to disclose their contents in detail. In general terms, the responses received show that those Embassies and High Commissions are using a variety of diplomatic tools to defend and promote FoRB as appropriate for the country in which they are operating.

Religious Freedom

baroness anelay of st johns: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks made by the Rt Hon Mark Field MP on 26 October 2017 (HC Deb, col 233 WH) that in partnership withLord Ahmad of Wimbledon he would reissue the freedom of religion or belief toolkit to all ambassadors and high commissioners, what training has been given to staff in post overseas in the use of that toolkit; and whether the toolkit is publicly available.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) reissued the freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) toolkit to all Embassies and High Commissions on 10 October 2017. The aim of the toolkit is to provide British diplomats with guidance on the human right to FoRB. The toolkit sets out what FoRB means, how it is commonly denied, and how the right to FoRB can be defended and promoted. The toolkit is therefore designed as a self-standing resource for use by British diplomats in any post.To complement the educational value of the toolkit itself, the FCO runs a variety of learning and development activities to help our staff to develop their religious literacy and their understanding of the way in which religion affects public policy across the world. Furthermore, officials from the FCO's Human Rights Policy Unit maintain very regular contact with a network of colleagues working on FoRB issues in many posts, offering guidance and support as required.

Religious Freedom

baroness anelay of st johns: To ask Her Majesty's Government what training in the use of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's freedom of religion or belief toolkit is given to UK employed staff before deployment to posts overseas; and how frequently that training is updated.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The aim of the freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) toolkit is to provide British diplomats with guidance on the human right to FoRB. The toolkit sets out what FoRB means, how it is commonly denied, and how the right to FoRB can be defended and promoted. The toolkit is therefore designed as a self-standing resource for use by British diplomats in any post.We are also increasing the focus on FoRB across our diplomatic network and have encouraged a number of our missions, including those in Asia to have a greater focus on FoRB.

Somaliland: Politics and Government

lord luce: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy towards the newly elected government of Somaliland; whether they intend to give support for any planned reform in that country; and if so, what form that support will take.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK is committed to supporting the shared prosperity and security of the people of Somalia, including in Somaliland. The UK congratulated the recently elected President of Somaliland on his election victory. We played an active role in supporting the elections, including through the deployment of a 60-strong election observation mission. The UK is working with the new government of Somaliland to support the delivery of its development plan and other crucial reforms. We are providing humanitarian assistance, supporting economic development, promoting good governance, and access to justice.

Maher al-Khabbaz

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what urgent representations, if any, they have made to the government of Bahrain concerning the decision of the Court of Cassation on 29 January to uphold the death sentence of Maher al-Khabbaz; and what assessment they have made of his case and trial.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK is firmly opposed to the death penalty. It is the Government's longstanding position to oppose capital sentences in all circumstances and countries. We continue to make this clear to the Government of Bahrain.We continue to follow the case of Maher al-Khabbaz and, where we have concerns, we raise them at a senior level with the Government of Bahrain.

Duaa Alwadaei

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 8 January (HL4428), whether they have received any updates from the British Embassy in Bahrain regarding the charges brought against Duaa Alwadaei.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The British Embassy in Bahrain and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office continue to seek clarification from the Government of Bahrain on charges brought against Duaa Alwadaei.

Nabeel Rajab

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of case and trial of the human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, and of the decision of the Bahraini Court of Cassation on 15 January to uphold his two-year sentence.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We continue to monitor the case of Nabeel Rajab closely and have raised it at a senior level with the Government of Bahrain.

Bahraini Ministry of Interior Ombudsman

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 24 January (HL4611), whether the UK played any role in awarding the EU Chaillot Prize to the Bahraini Ministry of Interior Ombudsman in 2014; and if so, what efforts they made to lobby others to secure that result.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK supported the decision to award the Chaillot Prize to the Ministry of Interior Ombudsman in 2014. The decision was reached through consensus by all 28 EU Member States. The UK believes that a body that has the power to investigate allegations of mistreatment in a timely, independent and transparent manner can be of great benefit to Bahraini society.

Bahrain: Nationality

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures, if any, they have taken to tackle reports of arbitrary revocations of citizenship in Bahrain; and what assessment they have made of the findings of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy that, between 2012 and 2017, (1) 506 individuals have been stripped of their citizenship, and (2) in the overwhelming majority of cases, those individuals have consequently been rendered stateless.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK has concerns about the revocation of nationality where it renders a person stateless, and we have raised this at a senior level with the Government of Bahrain.

Bahrain: Deportation

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations, if any, they have made to the government of Bahrain to stop the imminent deportations of Mohammed Ali, Abdul Amir, Abdulnabi Almosawi, and Maryam Redha, asreported by Amnesty International.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK has concerns about the revocation of nationality where it renders a person stateless, and we have raised this at a senior level with the Government of Bahrain. We are looking into the reports by Amnesty International.

Department of Health and Social Care

Accountable Care Organisations

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many accountable care organisations they plan to establish; and in which areas.

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the budget for accountable care organisations (1) in total, and (2) for each area in which they plan to establish them.

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of planned accountable care organisations will be subject to competitive tendering and contracting out provisions.

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether accountable care organisations will be created by delegated legislation; and if so, under what Act of Parliament.

lord o'shaughnessy: NHS England are developing a draft accountable care organisation (ACO) contract which could be used by local commissioners to commission a provider of integrated services. An ‘ACO’ is not a new type of legal entity, neither is it a body created under delegated legislation; instead it is a service provider that holds an ACO contract. NHS England have a power to draft terms and conditions for commissioning contracts in Regulation 17 of the National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) Regulations 2012. It is for NHS England to decide, after consultation, whether to introduce the ACO contract as a further commissioning contract.NHS England have already announced that they will be launching a consultation on the contracting arrangements for ACOs in March 2018. No ACO contract will be awarded in the meantime. NHS England has informed the Department that if an ACO contract is introduced, it is most likely that the two areas using a contract of this type will be Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group and City of Manchester Clinical Commissioning Group.If the contract is introduced, it will always be for local commissioners to decide how best to provide services to local patients, and this includes whether or not to establish an ACO.Where such a decision is taken, it will be for local commissioners, using the standard terms and conditions published by NHS England, to determine the details of the ACO contract. This will include the ACO budget. NHS England has published detailed guidance on how an ACO budget may be calculated. This guidance, Whole population models of provision: Establishing integrated budgets, is attached.Where a decision has been taken to commission an ACO, the commissioner will be responsible for the award of that contract and ensuring compliance with any relevant procurement law.The Health Select Committee is conducting a review of ACOs and NHS England is consulting on the draft ACO contract. The Government will not bring forward legislation until the NHS England consultation has concluded.



Whole population models of provision
(PDF Document, 1.41 MB)

Pneumococcal Diseases: Vaccination

baroness greengross: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to conduct a public consultation on changing the pneumococcal vaccination programme, following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to move to a "1 + 1" schedule for pneumococcal vaccine use in children.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provides independent expert advice on the United Kingdom immunisation programme. It bases its recommendations on a comprehensive review of a wide range of scientific and other evidence, including from the published literature, and commissioned studies such as independent analyses of vaccine effectiveness and cost effectiveness. It can consult with stakeholders on its advice when it deems this necessary.At its meeting in October 2017, the JCVI advised a change to the UK’s childhood pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) schedule. It recommended that infants should receive a single dose in infancy followed by a booster at one year of age (a “1+1” schedule). This advice was based on high vaccine uptake and effectiveness of the current PCV programme in the UK which has reduced vaccine-preventable pneumococcal disease.The JCVI conducted a short focused consultation in January on its proposed advice about the PCV schedule. This concluded on 2 February. It is understood that some stakeholders have requested an extension to this consultation. The JCVI considered this request at its meeting on 7 February and their decision on this will be made public shortly. It is the JCVI rather than the Government that is best placed to carry out consultation about scheduling within the vaccine programme and who to target the consultation at.

Midwives and Nurses: Degrees

lord willis of knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many(1) nurses, and (2) midwives, on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register hold a degree-level qualification in (a) nursing,and (b) midwifery.

lord willis of knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) nurses, and (2) midwives, on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register do not hold degree-level qualifications in either nursing or midwifery.

lord o'shaughnessy: The information requested is not collected by the Department. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom and is responsible for nurse and midwifery registration. In order to join its register, the NMC must be satisfied that an applicant is capable of practising safely and effectively. As part of its registration process the NMC assesses an applicant’s qualifications, training and experience against its registration standards.

Social Services: Learning Disability

baroness bertin: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the first Secretary of State on 16 November 2017 (HCWS25), what progress they have made on the parallel programme of work for the care of younger adults, in particular those with learning disabilities.

lord o'shaughnessy: The programme of work on adults of working age with care needs, which is led jointly by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, has begun initial engagement with stakeholders. Later this month, the Minister of State for Care (Caroline Dinenage) and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government (Rishi Sunak) will jointly host a roundtable discussion to bring together views from across the sector on the issues facing adults of working age with care needs.It is important that this work is informed by a range of perspectives and there will be further opportunities for interested stakeholders to feed in their views in due course.

Department for Education

St Stephen's School Newham

baroness cavendish of little venice: To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they have given to the head and governors at St Stephen's Schoolin Newham; and what assessment they have made of whether the head and governors have been harassed and threatened in their attempts to help integrate primary school children into British society.

lord agnew of oulton: The department has been in contact with St Stephen’s Primary School and offered to discuss the intimidation faced by staff, and provide support as appropriate. In addition, the police have also provided support to the school. Intimidation or bullying of any kind toward school staff is completely unacceptable and anyone who feels they are facing such behaviour should report it to their employer and the police, if necessary.

Faith Schools: Admissions

lord patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Agnew of Oulton on 23 January (HL4568), why the Department for Education has not collected data about the preferences of parents from different faiths in relation to the schools they choose for their children.

lord agnew of oulton: Schools designated with a religious character are permitted to collect information about parents’ faith in a supplementary application form. Schools that do not have a religious character will not require information about parents’ religious beliefs or practice as this will be irrelevant to their choice of school. Only schools with a religious character might hold this data and so, if collected by the department, this would not provide an accurate picture across all schools.We do, of course, keep this general approach to the collection of data under constant review.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

High Rise Flats: Fire Extinguishers

lord patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 23 January (HL4567), whether, since the statutory guidance was revised, they are satisfied that all new blocks of flats over 30 metres in height have had sprinklers fitted; and in the same period, how many existing buildings have been retro-fitted with sprinklers.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Building control bodies have a statutory responsibility to check the plans for building work (consulting fire and rescue authorities as appropriate) and to inspect work on site during the construction phase to assess whether it complies with the requirements in the Building Regulations. Where the work does not comply, under provisions in the Building Act, it is for local authorities to decide when a prosecution for non-compliance with the requirements in the Building Regulations would be appropriate.

Housing Revenue Accounts

lord porter of spalding: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extension of the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap in local authority areas of high affordability pressure.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: We have announced a rise in the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap by a total of up to £1 billion in areas of high affordability pressure for local authorities who are ready to start building new homes. This will help to deliver the new generation of council house building that the Prime Minister announced recently.We need to ensure that the housing market works for all parts of the community. So we need action on all fronts to build the homes that this country needs. High demand areas with affordability pressures are especially in need of affordable homes, so it is right that we focus this support on them.We shall shortly set out the details of what constitutes high affordability and the criteria used in determining how this support is allocated.

Private Rented Housing: Standards

lord hunt of chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following reports of poor standards of private rental accommodation, what remedial measures they are taking in conjunction with local and national housing agencies; and how those measures will be publicised.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Government is determined to crack down on rogue landlords. Local housing authorities already have strong powers under the Housing Act 2004 to require that landlords make necessary improvements to a property. Where a property contains potentially serious risks to the health and safety of the occupants, the local housing authority must take enforcement action.The Housing and Planning Act 2016 introduced a range of further measures to strengthen local housing authority powers to tackle rogue landlords and drive up standards. In April 2017, we introduced civil penalties of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution and extended Rent Repayment Orders, which require a landlord to repay a specified amount of rent to a local housing authority and/or tenant, to cover illegal eviction and failure to comply with a statutory notice. We intend to introduce a system of banning the most serious and prolific offenders from renting properties, as well as a database of rogue landlords and lettings agents to help local housing authorities with their housing standards enforcement work, in April 2018. These new powers will give local housing authorities the tools they need to crack down on rogue landlords who disregard the law and take advantage of tenants in the private rented sector.Ultimately local housing authorities are responsible for taking enforcement action against rogue landlords. Our 'How to Rent' and 'How to rent a safe home' guides provide information for tenants on their rights and responsibilities and signpost them to their local housing authority for further information should there be a problem with their rented property. The Department will also be publishing further guidance for local housing authorities on the powers in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 which will encourage local housing authorities to publicise successful prosecutions locally and to make information on banned landlords available on request by a tenant. The guidance will be available on Gov.uk by April 2018.

Devolution: Sheffield City Region

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government which of the powers due to be devolved as part of the devolution agreement with South Yorkshire to the Sheffield City Region Mayor will still be devolved if full consultation has not been carried out by the four local authorities by the time of the mayoral election later this year.

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government which of the powers due be devolved as part of the devolution agreement with South Yorkshire to the Sheffield City Region Mayor will be withheld if full consultation has not been carried out by the four local authorities by the time of the mayoral election later this year.

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government which of the funds due to be devolved as part of the devolution agreement with South Yorkshire to the Sheffield City Region Mayor will still be devolved if full consultation has not been carried out by the four local authorities by the time of the mayoral election later this year.

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government which of the funds due be devolved as part of the devolution agreement with South Yorkshire to the Sheffield City Region Mayor will be withheld if full consultation has not been carried out by the four local authorities by the time of the mayoral election later this year.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Government remains clear that the people of South Yorkshire can benefit significantly from devolution. The consolidated transport budget of £20.6 million per annum to 2020/21 has been given to the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority since 2017/18, giving the area greater flexibility over how to fund highway maintenance and other strategic transport improvements, and the Bus Services Act 2017 makes provision in relation to bus franchising for mayoral combined authorities. No further budgets or powers will be devolved unless and until all of the statutory requirements are satisfied, including the area undertaking the necessary consultation.As I told the House on 31 October 2017 in response to a question from the noble Lord [in Written Answer HL2234], if the leaders of the Sheffield City Region do not at some stage undertake the consultation they will have chosen to walk away from the deal. This would deny the people of the City Region some £1 billion investment from Government and the opportunity for the area to have new powers on transport, development, and skills.

Housing

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, for eachlocal housing authority area, how many (1) council sales under the Right to Buy Scheme there were, (2)council houses were constructed, (3) affordable homes were constructed for rent, and (4) social homes were constructed for rent, in each year since 2010.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Figures for the number of local authority Right to Buy sales by local authority area are available (attached) in live table 691 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-social-housing-salesFigures by local authority area are available (attached) in live table 244 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-buildingFigures for the number of additional affordable dwellings both for social and affordable rent by local authority are available (attached) in live table 1000 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply



Live table 691
(Excel SpreadSheet, 188.73 KB)




Live Table 244
(Excel SpreadSheet, 18.96 KB)




Live Table 1000
(Excel SpreadSheet, 109.22 KB)

Ministry of Defence

Defence: Finance

lord moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what inflation ratesthey are assuming for each of the next five years in planning for defence budgets to rise by inflation plus 0.5 per cent.

earl howe: Economic forecasts, including for inflation, are provided by the independent Office for Budgetary Responsibility (http://obr.uk/report/economic-and-fiscal-outlook). The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) budget was set at Spending Review 2015 and runs to 2020-21. This meets our commitment to increase MOD's core budget by 0.5% above inflation each year.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Tideway: Pay

lord berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what, in 2016–17, were the remuneration packages, including bonuses, of the top three executive directors of Tideway; and what assessment they have made of that remuneration given that the Thames Tideway Tunnel will not be completed, and available to deliver a service, for anothersix to sevenyears.

lord gardiner of kimble: The remuneration packages of the top three executives of Tideway are publically available in Tideway’s annual report for 2016/17, which is published on their website. As a private company, Tideway is responsible for setting its own remuneration policy that is approved by its shareholders in the normal way, and which does not impede it from carrying out its functions under the terms of its project licence. Remuneration is directly related to the delivery of the project, and forms part of the costs reflected in the company’s Regulated Capital Value regulated by Ofwat. A key element of Ofwat’s regulatory remit is to ensure that the revenue charges made by Tideway via Thames Water to customers are fair. Tideway is also incentivised through the terms of its project licence, regulated by Ofwat, and the Government Support Package to deliver the project on time and to budget.

Trees

viscount colville of culross: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the publication of their25 Year Plan to Improve the Environment, when they will announce (1) to whom the Tree Champion will report, (2)the powers they will use, and (3) the budget dedicated to the delivery of their work plan.

lord gardiner of kimble: Further details about the Tree Champion will be available later this year.

Flood Control: Earby

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what actions they have taken since the floods which took place in Earby on Boxing Day 2015, through the Environment Agency or otherwise, to reduce the probability of households in Earby being flooded, and to increase resilience against flooding in that town.

lord gardiner of kimble: Since the floods of Boxing Day 2015 the Environment Agency (EA) has worked in partnership with Pendle Borough Council, Lancashire County Council and Yorkshire Water to develop schemes to reduce flood risk in Earby. The EA removed 60 tonnes of gravel and debris from Earby Beck in September 2016 and carried out further channel maintenance in 2017, in addition to its routine maintenance activities on the beck. The EA is carrying out detailed hydraulic modelling of Earby Beck and its tributaries to identify technically and economically viable options to reduce flood risk from all sources in and around Earby. The EA has secured £100,000 of Flood Risk Management Grant in Aid to fund this study and it is scheduled to be completed in April 2018. The outcomes of this study will also be used to update the EA’s flood map, improve its flood warning service and provide better data to inform planning decisions. The EA has also developed a programme of works to repair the Victoria Clough culvert and restore it to its original capacity. An improved trash screen will also be installed at its inlet. These works are planned to be completed in 2018, subject to full funding being secured, and will reduce the risk of flooding to 91 properties. The EA has recruited four new community flood wardens to help coordinate the community response during future flooding and to support the development of the community flood plan led by Pendle Borough Council.

Flood Control: Earby

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Environment Agency’s flood alleviation study for Earby will be published; and when they will make a decision on the proposed community flood resilience scheme for Earby.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Environment Agency (EA) expects its Modelling and Appraisal Study for Earby Beck and its Tributaries to be completed in April 2018. The EA will make the findings public on completion. The EA supports the Earby Community Property Flood Resilience Scheme but needs to be sure that the proposed temporary flood barriers will not increase flood risk elsewhere. The EA has commissioned further modelling work to assess this risk which will begin in February 2018 and is due for completion in March 2018.

Environment Protection

lord hunt of chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the role of the Natural Environment Research Council in guiding and monitoring their 25-year plan for improving the environment; and which areas of research will be of greatest importance.

lord gardiner of kimble: In light of the publication of the 25 Year Environment Plan, we are reviewing our evidence requirements and will ensure that we will continue to engage fully with the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) as we explore synergies between our programmes. We have a very positive relationship with NERC in delivering long-term support for policies that have national and international importance and we are keen to build on this. Such cooperation enables us to co-design research programmes, helping to ensure that NERC’s strategic investments are appropriate, support excellent research and tackle environmental challenges.

Agriculture: Overseas Trade

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to prevent adverse impacts on the agriculture industry of future trade deals.

lord gardiner of kimble: British food has a world class reputation for quality and for high standards of animal welfare. The Government has been clear that it will not undermine these values in future trade deals.

Home Office

Asylum: Deportation

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much notice failed asylum seekers are given to leave the UK.

baroness williams of trafford: There is no specific notice period for failed asylum seekers to leave the UK. Individuals, including failed asylum seekers, with no leave to remain and no further outstanding applications are expected to leave the UK voluntarily at the earliest opportunity. The Home Office provides assistance and advice to facilitate voluntary returnsIf an individual refuses to leave the UK voluntarily, the Home Office will pursue an enforced return. They will be issued with a ‘notice of liability for removal’, which sets out that they can be removed after seven calendar days if they are not detained, and 72 hours if they are detainedFamily groups are provided with greater support and advice and will be invited to attend a family return conference. The notice of liability for removal is a minimum of two weeks after the family return conference.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make available to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, the European Union Committee, and its sub-committees, the data, modelling methodology and conclusions drawn from the Brexit economic impact assessments; and if so, when.

lord callanan: In accordance with the Humble Address vote on 31st January, the government has provided copies of the analysis that appeared in the media to the EU Exit Commons Select Committee and the EU Lords Select Committee. All members of both Houses are able to see a copy of the analysis on a strictly confidential basis in the reading room which has been made available.